just prior to the American Revolution, John Henry documented where the Pamunkeys had lived since the English first arrived
Source: Library of Congress, A new and accurate map of Virginia (by John Henry, 1770)

prior to the Civil War, the Richmond and York River Railroad built its line across the lands of the Pamunkey Tribe ("Indian Town") to connect Richmond to the deeper port at West Point
Source: Library of Congress, Atlas of the War of the Rebellion, Southeastern Virginia and Fort Monroe, Va. (1892)

the Confederate Engineer Bureau documented how the Richmond and York River Railroad crossed the Pamunkey reservation
Source: Library of Congress, Map of King William County, Va (by Benjamin Lewis Blackford, c.1865)

When the English colonists arrived in 1607, they discovered that the paramount chief Powhatan lived with the Pamunkey at Werowocomoco, at Purtan Bay on the York River.

In 1917, after the United States entered World War I, the Pamunkey objected to plans to draft men into the US military. Because the Pamunkey were classified as "Indians not taxed," they were not treated as citizens until the US Congress passed the Indian Citizenship Act in 1924.

the land and other property of said Pamunkey Tribe of Indians is not subject to taxation by the Commonwealth of Virginia; that said Pamunkey Tribe of Indians have always been wards of the Commonwealth of Virginia, and that the male members thereof have never been allowed to exercise the privilege of voting, and therefore affiant believes that they are not deemed and held citizens within the laws of this State and of the United States, and hence that the members of said Tribe are not properly subject to draft for military service in the present war.

By 2019, there were over 400 enrolled members of the tribe, and 85 of them lived on the reservation.2

The Federal government recognized the Pamunkey in 2016. Formal recognition came through the administrative process of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, in the US Department of the Interior. That preserved the right to open full-scale gambling casinos (Class III, with roulette wheels and slot machines) under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. In contrast, the six Virginia tribes that were recognized in January 2018, when the US Congress passed the Thomasina E. Jordan Indian Tribes of Virginia Federal Recognition Act, agreed to give up any opportunity to open casinos.

In 2019, the General Assembly started the process to authorize state-regulated casino gambling. Legislation in 2019 restricted the potential Norfolk and Richmond markets to just the Pamunkey. The Norfolk City Council then committed to sell to the Pamunkey land next to Harbour Park for a hotel, restaurant, and entertainment venue anchored by a Class III gambling casino. The tribe also acquired land in Richmond.3